Fords man arrested for sexual assault
Man was a substitute teacher at Perth Amboy district
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
Police arrested and charged a 25-year-old Fords man, who was employed by the Perth Amboy Board of Education as a permanent substitute teacher, with sexual assault in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child in the second degree.

Demond Edwards surrendered to police at Perth Amboy police headquarters on June 9, authorities said.

A joint investigation by the Perth Amboy police department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit established that Edwards allegedly had engaged in a sexual relationship with a female student at Perth Amboy High School and had sent inappropriate text messages to a second female student at the high school, resulting in the two criminal charges, authorities said.

The state Department of Children and Families had first received information about the incidents and referred the matter to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office on June 5.

Probable cause for the issuance of the complaints includes the statements of the two victims and the police investigation.

Edwards' bail was set at $50,000 with no 10 percent option in the complaint of endangering the welfare of a child. Bail on the sexual assault complaint has not been set.

According to the Perth Amboy Board of Education, Edwards has been a permanent substitute teacher at Perth Amboy High School since October 2006. During the 2007-08 school year, he also held the position of assistant football coach at the high school. In addition to being employed by the Perth Amboy Board of Education, he has also been a substitute teacher in the Woodbridge and East Brunswick school districts.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information related to this investigation or any other matters related to Edwards' employment in any of the three school districts is encouraged to contact Investigator Raj Chopra of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit at 732- 745-3600 or Detective Kenneth Puccio of the Perth Amboy police department at 732-324-3871 anytime day or night.